A Mission of Evangelization

As we enter year four of our Know Love Serve pastoral plan, we focus on the great mission of the Church: to make disciples of all nations.

Jesus empowered the disciples with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and sent them on mission saying, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations … and behold I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt 28:19-20) This exhortation to share the good news is the vocation of all Catholic Christians. This 2,000 year old call is being reiterated by the bishops of the United States as we state, “The New Evangelization calls each of us to deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel. The focus of the New Evangelization calls all Catholics to be evangelized and then go forth to evangelize.”

In a recent work by William Simon, “Great Catholic Parishes,” one essential practice evident in thriving parishes is evangelization. Evangelization is being carried forth by an enthusiastic people who have experienced something that is causing a spontaneous response. The Gospels are filled with individuals who were transformed by the love of Jesus, and spontaneously and enthusiastically began to proclaim what Jesus had done for them, even when Jesus said don’t tell anyone. In the bishops conference’s document
Go and Make Disciples, there is an invitation “To bring about in all Catholics such enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.”

Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the call of the Sermon on the Mount becomes achievable, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” God help us to be a light in the darkness, to see beyond ourselves to those in need of evangelization. Today, we think of the summer and fall liturgically as “Ordinary Time,” or in Latin
tempus per annum, the time during the year. Prior to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the Sundays of summer and fall were named the Sundays after Pentecost. There is a keen insight in that older name for this liturgical season we should keep in mind — that in this season after Pentecost, time does not stand still. We are called to take up that mission to evangelize filled with the same spirit that descended on the Apostles at Pentecost.

Let us become dedicated to praying for those we feel called to evangelize, and have the courage to build a relationship with those individuals so we can give witness to the Gospel, with great joy, hope, love and peace.

Evangelization is the central theme for the upcoming Know Love and Serve Assembly. On Sept. 22, diocesan Leaders from parishes and schools will gather to be encouraged and equipped to carry this call of evangelization forward. The assembly will feature Father John Riccardo from the Archdiocese of Detroit. Father Riccardo’s passion for evangelization will guide our conversation. He is a published author, radio host, regular guest on Catholic TV, and a beloved pastor at Our Lady of Good counsel in Plymouth, Mich. Father Riccardo will offer practical tools for parishioners and parishes to fulfill the universal call to evangelize.